Share this story

Further Reading

Apple has just released the final build of OS X 10.10.2, the second major update for OS X Yosemite since its release. Version 10.10.1, published just a month after Yosemite's release, focused mostly on quick fixes for the new OS' most noticeable problems. Apple has been issuing betas for 10.10.2 since November, though, and a longer testing period usually implies that there are more extensive fixes.

First up, the new release is supposed to fix more of the Wi-Fi problems that some users have been experiencing since Yosemite's launch. 10.10.1 also included Wi-Fi fixes, though it apparently didn't resolve the problems for all. The new update will also address "an issue that may cause webpages to load slowly" and improve general stability in Safari, all of which should go a long way toward improving Yosemite's network and Internet performance.

Several privacy and security problems that we've reported on have been resolved in 10.10.2, as well. Though Apple will still share limited search and location information with Microsoft to enable Spotlight's Bing-powered Web searching feature, the company has fixed a bug that caused Spotlight to "load remote e-mail content" even when the setting was disabled in Mail.app itself. Our original report describes why this is a problem:

Spammers, stalkers, and online marketers often use remote images as a homing beacon to surreptitiously track people opening e-mail. Because the images are hosted on sites hosted by the e-mail sender, the sender can log the IP address that viewed the message, as well as the times and how often the message was viewed, and the specific e-mail addresses that received the message. Many users prefer to keep their e-mail addresses, IP addresses, and viewing habits private, a goal that's undermined by the viewing of remote images.

Further Reading

Though the security patches aren't listed in the standard release notes (details for security updates are usually published to this page within a day or two), 10.10.2 should include a fix for the "Thunderstrike" bootkit attack, which can replace a Mac's firmware with hard-to-detect malware using an attached Thunderbolt accessory. Also gone are three less pressing vulnerabilities disclosed by Google's Project Zero initiative, which has made headlines in recent weeks for outing Apple and Microsoft security flaws along with "proof-of-concept" code that could be used to develop actual exploits. Project Zero notifies companies when it finds vulnerabilities and gives them 90 days to fix the problem before publishing its reports—so far, that policy has been unflinchingly rigid.

The other listed fixes should resolve a handful of specific problems with particular OS X features: 10.10.2 improves VoiceOver performance, fixes an issue where the OS language could switch unexpectedly, lets you browse iCloud Drive files from within the Time Machine interface, and "improves audio and video sync when using Bluetooth headphones."

10.10.2 is available through the App Store's software update tab, and it should be included with the Yosemite installer if you've been waiting for this update to make the jump from Mavericks or an earlier version. Combo and delta updaters will be available on Apple's software downloads page if you need them.

Share this story

Andrew Cunningham
Andrew wrote and edited tech news and reviews at Ars Technica from 2012 to 2017, where he still occasionally freelances; he is currently a lead editor at Wirecutter. He also records a weekly book podcast called Overdue. Twitter@AndrewWrites